Lorenzo Denicolai

Climate change and the Green New Deal are among the most discussed topics on social media, which acts as a sounding board for ecological questions and offers visibility to geographical areas not considered by the mainstream media. In recent years, TikTok, in particular, has become the site of a collec- tive narrative aimed at building widespread ecological awareness; for example, a global movement of activists who make climate change awareness videos has sprung up around the hashtag “#ecotok”. Starting from these considerations, the contribution proposes an analysis of some profiles that exploit the potential of TikTok to communicate the climate emergency of southern areas, such as Africa, India, and territories with complex management of environmental pol- icies. Thus, the aim is to reflect on the ecological consciousness of Generation Z, the primary spokesperson, and the practices of production, imitation, and storytelling promoted by TikTok.

The volume offers a multidisciplinary inquiry into the manifold representations of the South(s), approached through an ecocritical and decolonial lens. Edited by Carmen Concilio and Alberto Baracco, the volume gathers contributions from scholars across literature, philosophy, media and visual studies to interrogate the South(s) not simply as a geographic entity, but as a dynamic cultural and epistemological construct. Divided into two sections—respectively devoted to “Literary, Ecocritical, Decolonial, and Comparative Readings” and “Images, Representations, and Visual Cultures”—the volume explores how Souths are imagined, narrated, and visualized across temporal, spatial, and media boundaries. Essays address oceanic and blue humanities, multispecies entanglements, ecological ethics, postcolonial narratives, environmental activism, and visual ecocriticism. Through its wide-ranging and timely perspectives, the volume offers a nuanced exploration of ecocritical concerns, capturing the shifting, dynamic quality of Souths and their role today in postcolonial literature, audiovisual production, and the humanities.